Transcript: Will Davis--'I'm ear-to-ear smiling right now'

April 27, 2013

Team-provided transcript from the press availability with the No. 93 selection, cornerback Will Davis:

(On how surprised he was to hear that the Dolphins traded back into the third round to select him) – “I was shocked. I had a good feeling about the Dolphins, but once they made their other pick and they had no more picks I was just waiting. You kind of hope maybe randomly another team, but you know I always thought the Dolphins for some reason. When they made their last pick in the third, I was like, ‘well I guess it’s looking like tomorrow,’ and I was just sitting and waiting with the (family), but it was still kind of disappointing. And then for me to get the call and them to come right back in, man I’ll tell you what I’m ear to ear smiling right now.”

(On whether he had a lot of communication with the Dolphins throughout the process) – “Well I just remember at the end of the season and my football career, Coach Gary Anderson, he put a lot of players from Utah to Miami, so they knew him a lot. They came out to my bowl game to talk to me, and even my Head Coach Gary Anderson told me, ‘hey the Dolphins like you a lot.’ So it was good hear then, and that was basically the feeling from the beginning. So I talked to them quite a bit, of course, and now it was just waiting, waiting, waiting. To hear them say my name man, it’s crazy.”

(On what his strengths as a player are) – “Ball skills. That’s one thing that I think I have above a lot of people is my ball skills, high pointing the ball. I know my Pro Day showed it, the Combine showed it. Just of course, athletic. At the combine I was a 4.43 guy and everything like that. I’m just athletic and very natural to the game. I’m very fluid, a fluid player, and I’m a quick learner. I’ve haven’t been playing the game for that long in a sense, but the years I have I learned it quick and picked it up fast. Of course this last year I was able to make a lot of plays. I just want to go out there and learn quick. That’s one thing I think I’m good at, and just go out and compete. I definitely have the build for it, so it’s really just going there and proving, learning as fast as I can and do what I’ve been doing at every level I’ve been at, which is be one of the best players. From JC (Junior College) to everywhere I’ve been, it’s just be one of the best players there, and I’ve proven it at the D-I level. Now in the NFL I’m going to try and do the same thing.”

(On what kind of coverage schemes he played in college) – “Well at Utah State, Coach Gary Anderson is a man defense, a 3-4 type defense that plays a lot of man. He trusts his corners, and it helps us make a lot of plays. So I mean I ran a lot more man than zone I would say, and whether it’s pressing or playing off, I feel like I am good at both. And inside, I played a lot inside my junior year. You know nickel and dime stuff, so I feel like I can do it all. Like I said, I haven’t been stuck to one kind of thing. I’ve been inside, outside, special teams and playing off, playing on. So it’s kind of just molded me into the player I am. Coach Gary Anderson did really good at that and put me where he thought I could make plays.”